Back on a 'healthy eating plan' - I just can't say "diet"

"I SHED six stone, just look at me now!” scream the headlines and we admire how a champion slimmer conquered a lifetime of overeating to reach their target weight.

But revisit even the most successful dieter’s story later and often some or all of the pounds have piled back on.

I'm one of those people. Shortly before I had my children I'd lost four stone at Weight Watchers. Since having them, it's all gone back on, plus some more. Two years ago I lost two stone quite quickly through "better" eating and going to the gym - which I love once I get there.

Once you have lost weight – whether it’s a little or a lot - it is all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. I got stuck in a diet/binge/feel bad cycle and wrote last year about binge eating as well as writing for One in Four magazine about a relationship between obesity and depression.

Psychologist Dr Mike Green, from Aston University, says that changing your eating habits to allow for long-term weight loss means a “massive” shift in behaviour over a prolonged period of time.

He says that often people who have had a more ‘chaotic’ rather than ‘routine’ approach to eating can struggle to achieve or maintain weight loss.

“It’s important to regularise eating patterns. This certainly can’t be addressed by a quick fix approach,” says Dr Green.

“You are seeking to address attitudes to food built up through habitual eating habits and to lose weight, you need to suppress hunger or the feeling that you are hungry.

“In actual fact, research has shown that for dieters, the reason they eat often has little to do with biological hunger, so they have to tackle their eating patterns.

“If they fail to do this, as soon as they eat ‘normally’ again, the weight will go back on.”

Nutritionist Lyndel Costain adds: “Some people find it harder. Genetic influences, learned eating and exercise habits, including using of food to cope with comfort, stress or emotions while growing up, all play a part.

“People who have struggled with their weight are more prone to the dangers of 'all or nothing' thinking - if they lapse or eat a 'bad' food, have a blow-out or miss the gym a few times, they slip into into negative self-talk where they tell themselves they have blown it as they always do or they are hopeless and may as well give up.

“Recognising and turning this around is the key to success.

“Following an intense weight loss programme where there is rigid restraint, the risk of “all or nothing thinking” is greatly increased.

“That's why fad diets usually fail – they are too extreme to keep up. When 'broken,' the person feels a failure and gives up, when the fad diet was the failure, not them.”

Lyndel adds that research shows that while people may lose weight using different approaches, there are some common habits for long term weight loss success.

Thoughts, behaviour and mindset are key, she says, as are a healthy diet and active lifestyle.

“Most people who want to lose weight know what to do, adds Lyndel.

“But more often than not something keeps stopping them from keeping up healthier habits. When the next diet comes along with its tempting promises, or there’s the need to lose weight for a specific reason, it’s easy to jump on board.

“But the question to ask is if your chosen approach will really help you to recognise and change the thoughts and behaviour that have stopped you losing, then keeping weight off, in the past.”

Leading slimming organisations advise on keeping the weight off, by adapting their programmes long-term. The days of encouraging people to lose as much weight as possible, as quickly as possible are long gone.

A Slimming World spokeswoman says members are encouraged to find the motivation, confidence and support they need in order to make healthy and highly effective lifestyle changes for life.

Group support is also seen as a key element of people’s success with Weight Watchers.

Don’t forget that at these groups, the leader has successfully lost and kept off weight with the particular organisation.

A Weight Watchers’ rep dds: “We encourage small achievable changes to physical activity levels which can then be built upon to build up to a regular exercise regime – whether that’s walking a bit further each week, taking fitness classes, or going to the gym. So again, it’s much more likely to be followed long-term if it is something you enjoy doing.”

At Rosemary Conley, exercise is incorporated into the weekly meetings.

According to Lyndel, key elements of success are to:

•    Believe that you can control your weight and the changes involved are really worth it

•    Stay realistic and value what you have achieved rather than dwell on a weight you ‘dream’ of being

•    Be more active – plan ways to fit activity into your daily life – aim for an hour of walking daily

•    Plan ahead for regular meals and snacks, starting with breakfast

•    Choose a balanced, low-fat diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables

•    Watch portion size and limit fast food

•    Sit down to eat and take time over meals, paying attention to what you are eating

•    Have a flexible approach – plan in and enjoy some favourite foods without guilt

•    Recognise and address ‘all or nothing’ thinking and other negative ‘self-talk’

•    Keep making conscious choices

•    Learn to confront problems rather than eat, drink, sleep or wish they would go away

•    Enlist ongoing help and support from family, friends, professionals or websites

•    Regularly (at least once a week but not more than once daily) check your weight.

•    Take action before your weight increases by more than 2kg

She remains optimistic that anyone – whatever their past eating habits - can overcome the barriers to maintaining weight loss.

She says:  “The good news is that with the right skills, mindset, and support, a healthier weight can still be achieved.”

So, over the last week I've tried again to take small steps to improve my diet and health. I have aimed to:

• Reduce the amount of fast food/takeaways I buy - I haven't had any.
• Drink more water
• Eat more fish
• Have five servings of fruit/veg a day

I've lost half a stone.

I don't want that yo-yo to go back up.

I'd also love to take more exercise but my confidence isn't there yet.

At the moment, I'm feeling happy and very motivated. Here's hoping I can enjoy the next month as much. I went to see Lyndel a couple of years back and she told me:

* Food is not 'good' or 'bad'.

* I am not 'bad' for getting fat. The way I eat is not 'disgusting'.

* I am not a failure for putting on weight after leaving a slimming club.

* I do not lack 'willpower'

* I should stop beating myself up about getting fat

* The way I eat, when I eat and how much I eat, is learned behaviour.

* I CAN EAT WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT (Yes I am shouting.)

* Hearing and starting to grasp these things, at the age of gone 40,made me cry.

 

And good luck Michelle! I know how you feel. x

 

Comments

[English Grandma]

I've lost two stone since June at Weight Watchers! Put on a pound or two on holiday last week but that's already gone...I find it suits me, I can have a glass or two of wine then no pudding...my style!

[Kate]

Linda, I've been trying to do it like you. I lost a lot of weight pre children like you but did it by myself and largely kept it off. Children put paid to that by putting paid to my routine and getting back into it was HARD. I kept getting injured and the weight piled on.

Since February, I have been "eating" healthily. I have days where my eating is not so good, but I tell myself it is just one day and to get back on it. I also do regular exercise courtesy of my Wii. I got EA Sports Active Personal Trainer and did 7 30 day challenges with prescribed workouts, largely on a pattern of 2 days workouts followed by a rest day. I can do them at home, and it costs me nothing - tho we did get a balance board beforehand, and I've bought extra resistance bands.

I've got bored of that now so my OH has now bought me the More Workouts version of that game and that is pushing me again (it was getting too easy).

At time of writing, I am down to a size 14 probably from a size 18. Not astonishing but enough for me. I don't know how much weight that is, because I don't weigh myself but it's progress and people notice it.

I have never done slimming clubs. They are just not for me. They are at least at the sensible end of the scale compared to some "diets" that you see peddled.

I did blog about my progress in August if you want to take a read:

http://thefivefsblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/halfway-along-road.html

I am aiming for a size 12 as that is where I got to before, whether I will get there is another matter. My boobs have inflated like balloons since children and show no signs of deflating again, so I may end up fitting into larger tops but I can live with that.

Oh, another fab weight loss blog is my friend Jo - so inspirational

http://www.jagsfitnessblog.com - and she has links to plenty of others too.

Good luck!

[cathy@nurturestore]

Lots of great, practical tips here Linda - thanks. I went running twice last week, after months and months of no running. I'm combining it with the school run - getting my trainers on, taking the girls to school, then running back - this way I get the exercising done before I can find an excuse not to do it. Good luck to you (& me!)

[Sandy Calico]

I'm glad you feel ready to make those changes now. To me 'diet' is a dirty word, so the only way I can lose weight is to make small changes and think about why I am eating. I ask myself am I really hungry for food? I'm using the car less too. Good luck x

[Linda]

Hello, thanks everyone for your comments, which I thought I had already responded to but well my comment has gone and disappeared, I hope my waistline is heading in the same driection! You know I'm in the same place as you Sandy, thanks Kate for all the resources which I will check out, thanks EG, I know how great WW can be and good luck Cathy, I'd love to get back to fitness to run, I did a little bit years back but am still at the 'I could get two black eyes' stage. x

[Kat]

I have been documenting my own weight loss journey over at my other blog "Back Away From the Donut". The weight loss issue really is about choices and small changes. I have been using an online tool to track my calories, exercise and total weight loss (and sometimes gains depending on the amount of wine consumed over the weekend). I wish you success on your weight loss endeavor.

Here is my weight loss blog if you ever want to have a laugh about my experiences losing weight. I laugh about it all the time.

http://backawaydonut.wordpress.com/

[Kat]

PS- have you ever noticed that the first word in diet is die?

[Linda]

Thanks Kat, will definitely take a look, am loving the title.
And yes, sadly I have. x

[Suzie Grogan]

I have struggled with yo-yo dieting over the years and am currently desperately trying to shift a stubborn stone. However there is a bit of me that knows that if I do eat what I want when I want I am always going to be overweight, and do I really want to be on a diet all my life?

[Michelle Twin Mum]

Well done Linda, that first step is an important one. Keep going, one day at a time!

Today has been a harder day, being bored and stressed at work but it has been Ok in the scheme of things and I will stick with it.

Speak soon, Mich x

[notSupermum]

Great post Linda, and well done on the weight loss so far. I'm also trying to be more healthy and have been documenting my progress weekly with my Big Momma Challenge updates. In the past 12 weeks I've lost 18lbs, and while it's coming off slowly I'm able to keep going because it's about small changes and telling myself its not a diet! Good luck x